** Shares of CoreCivic up 3.1% at $22.61 premarket after Wedbush upgrades to 'outperform' from 'neutral', citing higher potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement $(ICE)$ detention utilization

** Wedbush hikes PT by $11 to $30, implying ~37% upside to stock's last close ** Given recent commentary from President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team on promised mass deportations, "we now believe that the need for incremental ICE beds could be even higher than previously expected, and that this need for beds could result in a reactivation of the lost South Texas contract," Wedbush analyst Brian Violino writes in note

** Potential uptick in EBITDA could lead to an acceleration of share repurchase activity, which has been on hold since loss of South Texas, he adds ** Through Mon close, CXW shares, have gained 61% since the Nov 5 election, after Trump, who promised to crack down on illegal immigration, clinched a second term in the White House

** Meanwhile, shares of peer Geo Group have surged 86% since the election through Mon

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))